Process of rapidly preparing a fermented dry or semi-dry sausage product and products therefrom

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a process for rapidly producing dry and/or semi-dry sausage products through the use of a single extrusion step that is capable of both drying and cooking the sausage product. The present invention is capable of producting non-conventionally shaped sausage products for use as food and pizza toppings, snacks and ready to eat meal pieces.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the present invention relates to a process of acceleratingmeat product fermentation. More particularly, it has been found thatthrough the utilization of a combination of slow release acidulants andbacterial cultures that dry or semi-dry sausage products may be obtainedin a more expeditious manner when compared with conventionally preparedsausage products without the loss of desirable textural properties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ingredient costs are typically one of the highest economical componentsencountered when producing products intended for human or animalconsumption. Processes such as aging, drying, curing, etc. slow theavailability of such ingredients to the manufacturer as well as increasethe overall costs due to the added inventory carrying time and treatmentsteps that are necessary to produce such a product.

A typical dry or semi-dry sausage fermentation process generallyrequires a long period of time, typically on the order of at least about10 to 24 hours. This duration of time is necessary, in that by holdingthe sausage product for a sufficient amount of time allows the bacterialculture to metabolize the sugars that are present in the sausage meatadmixture. This slow fermentation process has been used because theprocess preserves the textural properties of the meat product and limitsthe amount of protein denaturation that occurs, while providing afermented product flavor to the dry and semi-dry sausages such aspepperoni and the like.

The acidulation of meat products, particularly meat emulsions, is wellknown. Meat emulsions, such as sausage emulsions, are mixtures of leanmeat or meat protein and water that form a matrix in which fatparticles, salt, sugar and curing agents are dispersed.

Acidulation of meat products in the past has been accomplished byvarious means. One such method comprises inoculating the meat mass witha small amount of previously fermented food. The resulting inoculatedfood mass is then allowed to ferment for an extended period of time.However, fermentation using this method is very slow because of the timerequired for bacteria to grow and produce acids (usually lactic acid)which eventually lower the food pH to the desired level required for dryand semi-dry sausage products.

Another method of acidulating food includes the addition of aciddirectly to the food product that is being prepared. This process, whichquickly facilitates the reduction of the pH of the meat mixture hasnegative implications on the resulting flavor and texture of theresulting meat product and may destroy valuable textural properties ifthe process is not constantly monitored.

Dry and semi-dry sausage products are classified by the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture (“USDA”) according to process conditions,finished product pH, finished product moisture to protein ratio andother factors. For example, in order to meet the criteria for pepperoni,the product must have a finished product moisture to protein ratio of1.6 to 1 and be processed under conditions specified by the USDAsufficient to kill trichinae. In order to meet the criteria for beefsummer sausage, the product must have a finished product moisture toprotein ratio of 3.1 to 1 and a finished product pH of no greater than5.0.

A conventional process for making dry and semi-dry sausage productstypically includes the following steps: Initially, adding and mixing(admixing) ground meat (pork, beef and/or poultry) with spices, curingagents and either an acid-producing bacteria, e.g., lacticacid-producing bacteria or an acidulant. The types of meat, spices andcuring agents employed depend upon the type of sausage product desired.

Next, the meat mixture is formed into the desired shape by stuffing themixture into casings of prepared animal intestine or synthetic materialwhich are tied shut at both ends to form a single cylindrical unit or atintervals to form lengths. The mixture must be pre-formed into thetubular shape before the bacteria produces a significant amount of acid,or as is otherwise imparted to the admixture. The bacterial culture oracidulant quickly lowers the pH of the admixture making the meatnon-pliable and difficult to shape.

The formed products are allowed to set in a fermenting chamber at apre-determined temperature and for a period of time sufficient forenough acid to be produced by the bacteria or released by the acidulantto lower the pH of the admixture to a value below 5.2, typically below5.0. The bacteria cause fermentation of carbohydrates to produce thelactic acid, which gives the sausage its characteristic flavor. Thelactic acid also serves to lower the pH of the meat proteins towardtheir isoelectric point. This is particularly desirable because the meatproteins are less able to bind moisture as they approach theirisoelectric point, thereby facilitating subsequent drying of thesausage.

The low pH level prevents further bacterial growth and otherwise makesthe product biologically stable, produces an acidic flavor and sets theprotein in the meat thereby giving the product a firm texture. Thetemperature in the fermentation chamber is typically maintained between60° F. and 105° F. for about 7 to 14 hours.

Finally, the product is dried at a predetermined temperature and for aperiod of time sufficient to obtain the required finished productmoisture to protein ratio (e.g., for pepperoni, 1.6:1). For dry sausageproducts, the drying step must be carried out under conditions whichallow slow controlled uniform removal of moisture from the product yetinhibit the growth of surface mold or yeast. For example, the dryingchamber is typically maintained at a temperature between 50° F. and 70°F. and kept relatively dry to inhibit the growth of mold or yeast. Itgenerally requires several days or even weeks to reach the requiredfinished product moisture to protein ratio depending upon the thicknessof the formed product and other process conditions.

Some dry sausage is smoked prior to being dried but the primaryproduction step is a relatively long, continuous air-drying process. Drysausage typically requires more production time than other types ofsausage. Dry sausage generally ranges from about 60% to about 80% of itsoriginal weight when sold. Semi-dry sausage is usually heated in asmokehouse to fully cook and partially dry the product.

Unfortunately, maintenance of the required conditions during theextended fermenting and drying steps can make mass production of dry andsemi-dry sausage products somewhat difficult. There is a need for aneconomical process for making dry and semi-dry sausage products in ashorter period of time.

Surprisingly, what the inventors have found is that the invention allowsone to achieve a fermentation process whereby in less than 5 hours andpreferably less than 3 hours the meat admixture is at the desired pH ofa fermented product without adversely affecting the textural and flavorproperties even when using acidulants in the initial stages of theprocess.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a process of rapidly preparing a fermenteddry or semi-dry sausage product.

The invention is also directed to meat products obtained by this rapidfermentation process.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a significantlyreduced processing time for the likes of a traditional pepperoni fromseveral days to less than five hours and ideally, less than about 3hours. The reduced time frame significantly decreases the processingcosts and enables increased throughput of the sausage product.

To accomplish these and other related objects of the invention, in oneexemplary aspect, the present invention provides a process for rapidlypreparing a fermented dry or semi-dry sausage product that includes thesteps of initially admixing an amount of ground meat, containing asource of at least one fermentable carbohydrate, with an amount of anedible acidulant to lower the pH of the ground meat to a level below itsbuffering ability. Next, an amount of a bacterial culture is added toenable the fermentation of the ground meat. Then the meat admixture isformed into a desired shape; and finally, the formed meat admixture isfermented to achieve the desired dry sausage or semi-dry sausageproduct. The amount of the acidulant is selected so as to minimizedenaturation of proteins in the ground meat admixture thereby retainingthe textural quality of the fermented dry sausage or semi-dry sausageproduct.

Preferably, the time for preparing the fermented dry sausage or semi-drysausage product is less than 5 hours and more desirably less than about3 hours.

The process may preferably further comprise the step of admixing one ormore spices and/or one or more seasonings into the ground meat, driedpepperoni acidulant admixture, wherein the spices are selected from redpepper, black pepper, white pepper, anise, fennel, and others and theseasonings are selected from liquid oleoresins of spices, groundmustard, salt, garlic, onion and others.

Preferably, the dried sausage product is pepperoni. It is also preferredthat the process further includes the step of packaging the resultingsausage product as required for shipping or storage.

In another aspect, the invention is related to a semi-dry or dry sausageproduct prepared in accordance with the method described above.

The embodiments of the present invention described below are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formsdisclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodimentsare chosen and described so that others skilled in the art mayappreciate and understand the principles and practices of the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These, as well as other objects and advantages of this invention, willbe more completely understood and appreciated by referring to thefollowing more detailed description of the presently preferred exemplaryembodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, of which:

FIG. 1 depicts a flow diagram of certain exemplary process stepsinvolved in the present invention; and

FIG. 2 depicts a variety of shapes in which the product produced by thecurrent process may be provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is now illustrated in greater detail by way of thefollowing detailed description, but it should be understood that thepresent invention is not to be construed as being limited thereto.

The invention utilizes a combination of one or more acidulants includingbut not limited to glucano-delta-lactone or encapsulated acids such aslactic, malic, citric, sorbic and the like, in conjunction with abacterial culture typically used in the production of dry and/orsemi-dry sausage products to lower the pH of the sausage and impartmicrobiological stability, textural qualities, microbiologicalproperties and flavor.

The process allows for manufacturers to decrease the fermentation timeto less than 5 hours and more preferably less than about 3 hours byaltering the pH of the system slightly by using an acidulant thatchanges the initial pH of the meat admixture from around 6.2 to a pH ofaround 5.8 and preferably lower to around 5.3 where the sausage productstill retains sufficient plasticity so as to be able to extrude and formthe product into the desired shape. This pH range is more conducive tofaster fermentation by the bacterial culture.

In addition to being able to process the dry or semi-dry sausage productin an expedited manner, it has been discovered that shapes other thanconventional shapes may be formed from the sausage product. For example,the sausage product may be provided in geometric patterns such as stars,squares, pentagonals, hexagonals, and the like as well characters suchas might appear in electronic games or in advertising or animateobjects. As such, not only can the sausage producer provide ingredientsto the food product manufacturer at a faster rate, the food productmanufacturer can also use such products in connection with variousmarketing themes, advertising promotions and combinations thereof.

This inventive process also allows for a slower production of acid inthe product when compared with the conventional processes involving theaddition of powdered or aqueous acidulants. This beneficial processingstep aids in preserving the textural properties of the product bylimiting the amount of protein denaturation, while also giving thesausage product a more typical or customary fermented flavor that aconsumer would expect to be associated with dry and semi dry sausages.Traditionally, products manufactured only with powdered or aqueous acidsand/or encapsulated acids do not possess the same flavor characteristicsas fermented meat products.

In the exemplary embodiment described herein, the ground meat ispreferably selected from pork, beef and poultry, (chicken, turkey,etc.), or mixtures thereof. Other combinations or additions are ofcourse possible, including alligator, bison, bear, elk, deer, ostrich,game birds and other fowl, etc.

The fermentable carbohydrate is preferably selected from dextrose,sucrose, fructose, lactose, maltose and other sugars suitable forinclusion in food products and combinations thereof, with dextrose beingpreferred.

The edible acidulant is selected from glucano-δ-lactone, lactic, malic,citric, acetic, isoascorbic, adipic, tartaric, sorbic acid and mixturesthereof. It is also preferred that the amount of ground meat to theamount of acidulant ratio is between 0.1 to 1.5:99.9 to 98.5 percent byweight, more preferably the amount of ground meat to the amount ofacidulant ratio is between 0.5 to 1:99.5 to 99 percent by weight.

The bacterial culture releases lactic acid upon metabolism of the sugarswithin the meat admixture. In the exemplary embodiment, the bacterialculture is selected from Lactobacillus plantarum, LactobacillusBavarious, Lactobacillus Curvatus and Lactobacillus Sake.

Without being bound to any particular reasoning as to why the use of thecombination of acidulant and bacterial culture in this manner producessuch surprising results it is thought to be because of the followingreasons.

Meat mixtures have significant buffering capacity that aid in negatingthe effects of adding acid prior to actually seeing a decrease in the pHof the mixture. The use of an acid to take the mixture “through” thebuffering capacity of the meat is therefore useful in speeding up theprocess of the invention. However, the acidulant is not used during thewhole process because of the historical problems of fast acidulation,namely the negative effect seen on the texture of the meat productarising because of the rapid denaturation of the meat protein. Thisrapid denaturation prevents the proteins from binding to each other toachieve the desired textural matrix that one normally associates withconventionally fermented meat products.

In the present invention, by utilizing a combination of slow releaseacidulant and a bacterial culture it is possible to mitigate and eveneliminate what is effectively an activation barrier arising from thebuffering capacity of the meat without affecting too dramatically the pHof the meat admixture. In addition, the slower acidification arises fromthe presence of the bacteria in the culture. That is the bacteriaproduces additional acid. In light of this situation, the sloweracidification then moves faster than one would normally otherwiseobserve as the bacteria in the culture tends to produce more lactic acidat a quicker rate which correspondingly accelerates the rate of growthof the bacteria when compared with the normal fermentation scenario.This results in the finished product reaching the desired pH much morequickly than in a typical fermentation process. The addition of theacidulant does not adversely affect the textural, flavor andmicrobiological qualities of the meat mixture.

Turning now to FIG. 1, an exemplary flow chart of the present process isillustrated and includes the meat being initially provided at step 10.The meat is then placed at a grinder 20, which may be any conventionalgrinder, meat blender or the like. Next, an edible acidulant at 15 andpossibly other ingredients 17, seasonings, etc. as described herein areadded to the meat. The combined mixture is further ground and prior topassing the meat mixture to the forming stage, a bacterial culture isadded at 25. The culture in combination with the acidulant begins thefermentation process, that is the bacteria begins to produce acid inaddition to the beneficial addition of the acidulant. Next, the mixtureis passed to a forming and shaping step designated at 30 in which themeat is extruded to form the desired shape. The shaped sausage isallowed to ferment for a period of time at step 40 to produce a productthat may undergo some additional treatment steps at 50, such as heating,drying and/or cooking prior to being packaged.

Turning briefly to FIG. 2, the illustration depicts a number ofconfigurations and shapes that may be produced in connection with thepresent embodiment. Other configurations, shapes, designs, etc. are ofcourse possible.

In order to further illustrate the inventive process, the followingexample is given. Although the example is presented to illustratecertain specific embodiments of the invention, it is not to be construedto restrict the scope and spirit of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

A sample of dry sausage (pepperoni) was produced in accordance with theinventive process.

First, the meat, approximately 5 kg, was ground and then admixed withthe slow release acidulant, glucanodelta-lactone (GDL) approximately0.5% by weight of the ground meat. Dextrose is added to the meatmixture. Additional spices, seasonings, a curing agent and a proteinsource may be added to form a sausage admixture. The meat consisted of amix of beef and pork in a range of approximately 30% beef and 70% pork.The beef and pork were ground together in a conventional meat grinderprior to being admixed with the other ingredients. The total fat contentin the meat was about 35% by weight based on the weight of the meat(meat referring to the meat mix).

The spices and seasonings used were conventional sausage or Italianseasonings obtained from Chris Hanson Corp. and included approximately5% by weight of the batch prepared.

Next, a bacterial culture selected from the group of Lactobacillusplantarum, Lactobacillus Bavarious, Lactobacillus Curvatus andLactobacillus Sake was added.

The ground meat mix was admixed with the acidulant, spices, seasonings,curing agent in a conventional meat blender for approximately 4 minutes.

The sausage admixture is then formed to a desired shape and iscontinuously extruded into a plurality of rectangular strips, each stripbeing approximately 4 inches wide and ⅜ of an inch high. The strips wereextruded by loading the sausage admixture into an extrusion chamber andusing a piston to push the admixture through an extrusion head.

The shaped sausage was then allowed to ferment at a temperature of 110°F. for about 90 to 120 minutes until the pH of the meat dropped below5.0.

The shaped sausage product may be put through a heating device, whichcooks and dries the shaped sausage pieces. An exemplary device for thispurpose is a conventional batch oven that operates at a temperature ofapproximately 120° F. to 150° F. and the time required for drying wasapproximately 30 minutes.

A few of the pieces were analyzed upon exiting the oven. The pieceslooked and tasted like conventional pepperoni, had a pH level of around4.3 and a moisture to protein ratio of 1.6:1 or less.

The required finished product moisture to product ratio for varioustypes of dry and semi-dry sausage products is shown below. ProductMoisture to Protein Ratio Beef summer sausage 3.1:1 Pepperoni 1.6:1Jerky 0.75:1  Dry sausage 1.9:1 Thuringer 3.7:1 Dry salami 1.9:1 Genoasalami 2.3:1 Farmer summer sausage 1.9:1

The drying step can be carried out using many different types of heatingdevices, including but not limited to linear forced air dryers/oven,vacuum dryers, spiral forced air dryers, batch ovens and the like.

Once the drying step is completed, any dried off cuts resulting from theslicing, dicing or cutting step can be separated and removed from thedesired products. The off cuts can then be fed back into the process asa protein source that can be ground up with the next batch of meatdestined for processing in a further cycle of the process.

The remaining dried and suitably shaped products can then be packaged,chilled, optionally frozen and shipped/stored as required.

The dry or semi-dry sausage product produced in accordance with theabove-mentioned process may be produced in a number of configurations,including conventional shapes. However, the process envisions that theproduct may be provided in unique shapes or themes to supplement aparticular marketing promotion. For example, the pieces may be providedin geometric patterns such as stars, squares, pentagonals, hexagonals,and the like as well characters such as might appear in electronic gamesor in advertising or animate objects.

It will thus be seen according to the present invention a highlyadvantageous process for producing dry and semi-dry sausage has beenprovided. While the invention has been described in connection with whatis presently considered to be the most practical and preferredembodiment, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artthat the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment,that many modifications and equivalent arrangements may be made thereofwithin the scope of the invention, which scope is to be accorded thebroadest interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass allequivalent structures and products.

1-19. (canceled)
 20. A dry or semi-dry sausage prepared by rapidlyfermenting dry sausage or semidry sausage product in a period of timeless than five hours, wherein the fermentation comprises the steps of i)admixing an amount of ground meat, containing a source of at least onefermentable carbohydrate, with an amount of an edible acidulant to lowerthe pH of the ground meat below its buffering ability, ii) adding anamount of a bacterial culture to enable the fermentation of the groundmeat; iii) forming the meat admixture into a desired shape; iv)fermenting the formed sausage admixture to achieve the desired drysausage or semi-dry sausage product; and v) heat-treating the meatadmixture during the fermentation step at a temperature of between about120° F. to about 150° F.; wherein the amount of the acidulant isselected so as to minimize denaturation of proteins in the ground meatadmixture thereby retaining the textural quality of the fermented drysausage or semi-dry sausage product; and wherein the steps of admixing,adding, forming, fermenting and heat-treating are performed in under to5 hours to produce the fermented dry sausage or semi-dry sausageproduct.
 21. A dry or semi-dry sausage as recited in claim 20, whereinthe dry or semidry sausage is provided in the shapes of any of animate,themes, characters, stars, squares, rectangles, hexagonals, pentagonalsor combinations thereof.
 22. A dry or semi-dry sausage as recited inclaim 20, wherein the shapes are provided in connection with a marketingtheme, advertising promotion or combinations thereof.